The LASIK Blog

"Red Eye" Causes and Elimination in Photos

Maybe it’s your birthday photos or pictures of an outing with friends that were ruined. No matter what the occasion, people always ask us what they can do to reduce or minimize “red-eye” in photos.

 

What is "red eye"? When you take a picture using a flash, light travels through the eye and reflects back off the retina and back out through the pupil. Since the shutter of the camera opens and closes so quickly, the captured image is that of the light reflecting back out of the eye. The light is red because the fundus, or interior surface of the eye, contains a brownish-reddish pigment called melanin.

 

To eliminate “red eyes” in photos the “red eye reduction” setting on most cameras causes a flash to go off once before the picture is taken which causes the pupil to contract and let less light in. You can also position yourself while taking a picture with a flash at a further distance or not directly in front of your subject to reduce the glare. Taking a digital photo? Most photo-editing software programs contains an application to address "red eye".

 

In ophthalmology, this same phenomenon allows physicians a way to see inside the eye. In the 19^th century, a German physician, Hermann von Helmholtz invented the ophthalmoscope, an instrument which allows the examination of the retina by using a bright light near the eye and shining it into the patient’s pupil.

 

Have your own suggestions or tips, we'd love to hear them!

 

 

 

Full Service Eye Care & LASIK: It's About the Relationships!

EyeCare 20/20 is a full service eye center.  Being a full service eye care center, we are fortunate to continue to see our patients long after their LASIK surgery.  We like to build long, lasting relationships with our patients. Its not "have your LASIK and never see you again."  It is not uncommon for us to give children their first pair of glasses, than their first pair of contact lenses.  Perform LASIK on their parents, and perform cataract surgery on their grand parents.  In fact, there are many long standing patients in our practice whom I have done all 4 on:  prescribed  glasses, contacts, LASIK, and cataracts!

I recently saw Charles Sanfilippo, a long time patient for his yearly eye exam.  We could hardly believe that it was over 10 years since I preformed LASIK on him!  He was nice enough to shoot me an e-mail to me last week and allow me to share it with you:

I am a patient of Dr. Silverman and had the lasik procedure done about 10 years ago.  I wore glasses since I was 9 years old and wished for the day that I did not have to wear glasses.  When soft contact lenses came to be I wore them and then needed reading glasses a few years later.  The whole process became too cumbersome to negotiate.

 

I was referred to Dr. Silverman by a family member and had the lasik process done.  What a remarkable result.  I just had an eye exam this fall and both Dr. Silverman and I realized how the time flew by since the initial procedure.  

 

The results have been none less than perfect.  I just witnessed my 63rd birthday in January and realized that my wish was fulfilled.  Reading

glasses are still a small part of my life, but with that kind of a trade off, I say "who cares". 

 

Thank you Dr. Silverman!!!!!!

 

Charles Sanfilippo

Caffeine May Help Prevent Cataracts

Your morning cup of coffee may do more that help you keep your eyes open.  It may protect them as well! Tea and coffee alkaloids may have an anti- cataract effect on your eye's natural lens.  Exposure to the sun's uv rays generates compounds called free radicals.  These free radicals may have harmful effects on our bodies, including the formation of cataracts.

According to Eye Smart, a public awareness campaign that encourages Americans to take charge of their eye health, caffeinee inhibits the formation of these free radicals.  A study conducted by the University of Maryland, Baltimore tested caffeine's effect on cataract formation.  Mouse lenses were exposed to UV light and those that were also exposed to caffeinee did not develop cataracts.  The group not exposed to caffeinee did develop cataracts.  They concluded that caffeinee did in fact counteract the effects of UV light on the lens.  Obviously these results warrant further study, but it is not hard to imagine a caffeinee drop that may one day be prescribed to prevent cataract formation.

In the meantime, enjoy that cup of coffee or tea, you may be doing your eyes a favor as well!

Valentine's Day Gift!?: EyeCare 20/20 Featured in Splash Magazine Gift Guide

Running out of gift ideas for this Valentine's Day?  Check out Splash Magazine's Valentine's Day Gift Guide.

Eyeare 20/20's LASIK services were featured in the health and beauty section of Splash Magazine's Valentine's Day Gift Guide.  This gift guide features many gift ideas for this Valentine's day.  Items from food to health care to technology gifts to entertainment and culture are highlighted in 26 sections.

 

Accutane & LASIK: Not a Good Combination

My office received a call today from a patient who was in for a LASIK screening last year.  She is now ready to proceed with LASIK.  She did have one question:  could she get the LASIK now, even if she was taking Accutane for acne?  The answer:  "No!"  I told her she may proceed with LASIK after she is off the Accutane for 6 months.

Acccutane is a popular acne medication used by many dermatologists.   It is a form of Vitamin A and works by reducing the amount of oils released by the oil glands in your skin.  Accutane is used to treat severe nodular acne.  

According to a study by the University of Columbia, Missouri, using Accutane during the 6 months before of after LASIK results in increased complications and dry eye.  The study was published in the January 2006 issue of the Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology.  Using Accutane 6 months before or after LASIK puts the patient at increased risk of dry eye, blepharitis, and improper corneal wound healing.

BOTTOM LINE:  If you are contemplating LASIK, you will need to be off Accutane for 1 full year, 6 months before, and 6 months after the LASIK.  Be sure to discuss this with both your ophthalmologist and dermatologist.

Bernadette Debrino's New ReSTOR +3.0 IOL Video Testimonial

Bernadette Debrino discusses her new vision following implantation of the new ReSTOR +3.0 IOL. She is 1 day post op cataract surgery in her second eye, and able to read, drive, and see the computer without glasses!!

Twitter, Blogs, and LASIK

According to Wikipedia:

 "Twitter is a social networking and micro-blogging service that allows its users to send and read other users' updates (otherwise known as tweets), which are text-based posts of up to 140 characters in length.  By September 2008, Twitter had well over 5 million visitors."

My name on Twitter is TheLASIKDoc.  I currently have 1,457 people following me and rank 6,907 out of 1,214,759 people on Twitter Grader. I use Twitter to engage in conversations with people who are discussing LASIK.  I might send the information on how to find a LASIK surgeon, encourage a LASIK patient to donate their old glasses to a charity, conduct a poll about LASIK, refer a potential LASIK patient to LASIK testimonials, promote EyeCare 20/20's fan page on Facebook, or just answer people's questions about LASIK.  

Twitter is full of conversations discussing LASIK.  Some people are inquiring about the procedure while others are raving about their results.  Jimmy Fallon even  tweeted his LASIK surgery online.

LASIKExpert touts a web site that encourages others to post their testimonials on  LASIKTestimonials.com. Someone even posted a feed to their LASIK surgery, grossing out half of the Twitter universe.  I had to reassure people that the surgery looks much worse than it is, "no pain and excellent vision."

Several people have used Twitter to post their LASIK experiences.  Annelise Johnsen, from Bergen, Norway has an excellent blog that chronicles her LASIK experience.  Pew Pew!- Life After LASIK is a wonderful description of her LASIK is six parts. 

James Booth is a 4th year med student from Texas.  He Tweeted about his blog post, Zap! Zap! I got LASIK!, which is an entertaining account of his LASIK surgery.

twevee is new service that allows Twitters to recommend videos on Twitter.  Someone recently recommended a video titled "You want LASIK Surgery?".  This video is one of a series of videos from Something to Do.  This episode involves host Anna Yu's search for LASIK surgery.  I found it informative, entertaining, and well done.

Twitter is an excellent place to engage the blogosphere in topics that are of interest to you.  I highly recommend it.  If you decide to join, don't forget to follow The LASIKDoc!!

Become A Facebook Fan Of EyeCare 20/20 And Help A Worthy Cause!

 

The Seeing Eye, Inc., the oldest existing dog guide school in the world is turning "80" this month. To help celebrate, EyeCare 20/20 is encouraging our friends and patients to become a "hero" and a "fan" all at once.

 

From now until the end of April, for every person who becomes our Facebook fan, EyeCare 20/20 will donate 80 cents to the Seeing Eye. Feel free to pass this infoto a friend, encourage them to check us out on Facebook and help us spread the word about our efforts! Simply click here to be connected to our Facebook page. While you're there, read and listen to some of our patients' LASIK testimonials and learn a little more about our practice.

 

The Seeing Eye, located in Morristown, was founded in 1929 by Dorothy Harrison Eustis and Morris Frank. The Seeing Eye enables dog users to experience a greater sense of independence and mobility despite their visual impairment or blindness. They rely solely on the financial support and generosity of many local corporations and individuals and receive no government assistance.

How come you haven't had LASIK yet?

Here are the results of an on going Twitter poll asking people wearing glasses why they have not had LASIK yet.  I will address these results in an upcoming blog post.